SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
7 am |
| 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SE 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 18 KM/H |
|
|
 |
8 am |
| 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: S 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 13 KM/H |
|
|
 |
9 am |
| 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: S 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 11 KM/H |
|
|
 |
10 am |
| 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSW 8 KM/H
GUSTING TO 11 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
11 am |
| 16 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: S 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
|
 |
12 pm |
| 17 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: SSW 10 KM/H
GUSTING TO 15 KM/H |
|
|
 |
1 pm |
| 20 ℃ |
| SCATTERED CLOUDS |
WIND: SW 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 18 KM/H |
|
|
 |
2 pm |
| 20 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: SW 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 22 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
 |
TODAY |
HIGH OF 20 ℃
LOW OF 12 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 18 ℃
LOW OF 11 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 21 ℃
LOW OF 10 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 21 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
 |
 |
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 21 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 17 ℃
LOW OF 12 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 19 ℃
LOW OF 14 ℃ |
| HEAVY INTENSITY RAIN |
|
|
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 14 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| MODERATE RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
SCOTTY MCCREERY STUCK BEHIND A TRACTOR 07:30 AM |
 |
 |
LOCASH WHEN IM OLDER 07:27 AM |
 |
 |
ALEX RUNIONS SETTLING UP 07:23 AM |
 |
 |
DAN AND SHAY WHEN I PRAY FOR YOU 07:20 AM |
 |
 |
TREY LEWIS THOUGHT ABOUT CALLING YOU TODAY 07:17 AM |
 |
 |
JON WOLFE THATS WHAT IM DOIN 07:11 AM |
 |
 |
RILEY GREEN BEHIND THE TIMES 07:08 AM |
 |
 |
LILY ROSE END LIKE THIS 07:04 AM |
 |
 |
HUNTER HAYES FIX ME 07:00 AM |
 |
 |
KANE BROWN RESCUE 06:57 AM |
 |
 |